Q: Do I need to go through with child support?
I went to welfare today and told the guy at the desk I didn't want child support. After talking for a while and signing a few papers I found out one of the papers was to find the father after I told him I didn't want it done. Can I stop them from finding the dad if I don't want child support?
A:
I'm not 100% sure, but it's my understanding that DPW may require you to seek child support before you're qualified to receive public assistance yourself. Either that, or *DPW* will file a petition for child support against Father to seek reimbursement for the public assistance you receive. Something like that. Contact your local Legal Aid office to confirm: http://lasp.org/bucks-county.
The theory is that DPW would rather Father support his child instead of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And I'm sure you have your reasons for not wanting to seek child support yourself, but DPW doesn't really care. It's a dollars-and-cents issue for DPW, and they'll go after the money from someone else whenever they can.
Best of luck to you.
Bruce Alexander Minnick agrees with this answer
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